Work diary

[josebita]

I'm very bad at playing games, so I might get killed even many more times than you say your cousin got killed.

[_-Caleb-_]

Go Drumpi GO!!!!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D

[Drumpi]

Are you telling me for do the game easyer? if i do, you can finish it in no time, and then you didn't play it again :D :D :D
Ok. It's late to change levels, so the only thing i can do is to add a new difficult level with more lives.
Let's worklog.

2 DAYS REMAINING:

...Or not? Splinter is asking for how many time WE need to end the games. It looks like i'm not the only with time problems.
First, i must say that i'm not having planification problems. I re-wrote all hadrnesss engine for one month, this is 2000 lines long, and must be debbuged. But let's stop talking about past, it's late and i want to sleep.

Today i was doing a lot of things, lot of little tings, but necessary.
I rewrote the menu code, i added some features to put some non-selectionable text. This menu is used on pause, finally implemented, and generate his own graphics. I'm still need to work on it, because i cannot pause events, and if you exit game, yo will go to main menu... but it isn't coded yet ^^U
The audio system is also rewroten. I was having troubles synchronizing process with loop and no-loop songs (a little limitation of Bennu), so now i have an only process who control all songs management: if i want to change current song, i must change one variable, he is responsible of load, unload, play and stop all background songs.

I'm not leaving sound yet, because, besides of adding the final musics, i was adding some FX, like shots or doors opening, so finally the musician work is on game. The second weapon has his own sounds too, it forced me to rewrite the weapons SFX load.
Yes, i'm deleting a lot of provisional code, like the global loop.

I'm not finished yet. I completed the "get health expansion". Again, i put the final fanfare, and i coded something simple but nice. You will see it a few times in game (if you explore it well) so it musn't be something long.
I changed some little things to optimize, like collision with end level item (you don't will see it), but it isn't tested yet. And must do some others optimizations.

Bored? don't cry, i'm finishing. I was started the third event. It isn't as espectacular as i want, but i think it will take you down some times ;D I don't know if i must add a new "trouble", so it's a matter of time. I got 66% coded of it (it's a new record) so tomorrow will be finised and i will concluded the first level at all.
Well, don't so. I must do some fix in previous events, but nothing hard.

So, tomorrow, i will make this event, the end of level and those fixs. Then... i got a list of things to do, but maybe i will work on second level, new weapon, one or two enemies, and pray for get more of half list done.
If Splinter will give us some days more, i will add savegame, level select mode and a little surprise for those advanced gamers who can get the end of game with 1 life, all items and less time ;D

(Incredible, i was here two hours, i must sleep).

[Drumpi]

1 DAY REMAINING!!!!

Aaaaaaaahhhh!!!
Wow, another tired day, but not for work. Tonight i slept a few hours, so i worked half as usual.
But i did lot of things: i finished the final event of first level, and then i made the ending level event. That means i could write all final code to change level (deleting the provisional code).

I polished some efects on previous events and fixed a pair of bugs on them. And add a new function who let me send signals to events process, very usefull for pause, who isn't finished (i think so, but no). This function was a little hard because of collecting all process names (sometimes i miss FEdit).

The ending screen tile has been modified too, is more fast and now you can't see it.
And i was writing the losting live event (game over included), but i need to add an animation and some graphics, so is still incomplete... but i did the hard work.

Also, i added some musics to test them on game. They fit better than i spect, so less work to my musician. With two more musics i think it's over... unless we get the possible extra time and add a... hehehe. But there is very few SFX.

Tomorrow i must finish.
But it's impossible. I didn't nothing of second level, and must put enemies in first half (with my incredible super fast editor) and must do the final event, with an enormous graphic and some sub-graphics. I must do the main menu and credits, and add the third weapon (yes, the same as two weeks ago). Maybe monday will be finished.
But probably i need to add a save option, don't forget that this game will be in a handheld console. It will take me one day more, and another to put the extra option.

Don't think negative. There are 24 hours more, so if i'm Jack Bauer i can do these and solve an antiterrorist crisis ;D

[gecko]

hehehe, the image of you coding and working with the clock running in a scene like Jack Bauer is funny.

you can do it :)

[Ariel Yust]

if Splinter is asking how much we need then I'd say another month then even I think I can create something playble again cos my exams will be over hehe :P

[Drumpi]

THE TIME HAS EXPIRED!!!!


CONTINUE? Credits=1
YES!

7 DAYS REMAINING:

Wow, i almost forgot to write the worklog.
And it's because of the time extension of contest. I worked so hard last days and i was becoming crazy (forgotten thinks and mistmatching names), so today i take a breath.

But it doesn't means i don't worked today: i made some of second level, it's a good map (i must do some decoration tiles more, but it's OK). Now, this level has doubled his lenght, and with extra time i will double it again, making the biggest level ever on bennu/wiz.
This is a problem with my actual editor. But i have solutions for almost anything: i did this expansion on a different file, and i'm testing like a new level. When all parts are done, i will join them by coding. It's not hard (as easy as those mini-programs for changing hardness to tiles).
If someone is doubting what I have worked, i will say: this "screen" had 22x256 tiles: hardness, conversion and re-tiled (don't forget that conversion tool uses basic changes, there are at least 3 possibles tiles for same hardness tile).

Well, tomorrow Jack Bauer is going to scold her daughter for making porn star ;D and I will continue with this level and the last weapon. Now, Echo can grab the item (yes, he could it before) and take a walk with it. It's still useless and doesn't have any animation... but it isn't coded yet ^^U
And I hope I can do something about dead. As I said yesterday, it's all ready to do, but i stopped because of animations. There are some things i haven't done before because graphics (and his animations, the art concept).

So, good night, see you tomorrow. And Thanks for the comments ;) I hope you will enjoy it.

[SplinterGU]

Ariel Yust, maybe you can do a lite game version... and out of contest you can do a full game version...

[Drumpi]

6 DAYS REMAINING:

Now i'm singing the Big main theme from Sonic Adventure, yes: "lazy days in paradise".
I'm not in paradise, but is a lazy day. But i have a reason. When i was to start coding the last weapon, i saw that the weapons code was incompatible: modifing angle according the main character, using control points... And i was a little tired, so i lost all my energy in a flash.
So, when i'm without energy, I put enemies on maps.

But there is another problem: i only got 2 enemies for this level, and they were very hard to beat. So today was an enemy creation day. And I balanced a little the dificulty (enemies had eagle eyes). Making the game harder or not isn't easy, you must play, change, play again... until you get the exact point you want.
I got three new enemies, and i think i will need five more. Don't forget this is a war, and i must do people for two sides. Maybe i can recicle code (i'm doing right now with enemies of first level) but i need new graphics at all.

And i found some bugs i overlooked, one serious of pause, but i fixed it.

Tomorrow i got an ineludible date, so i think i work as today :S Maybe i got some ideas of how to make the weapon and can do it. And i think i got the graphics for levels intros (nothing expectacular but functional). If i wakeup with energy, i will make another screen of level, else i will make more enemies (i have got two in mind, and a little idea for platforming :P).

See you.

[Ariel Yust]

this friday I have exam in calculus and then next friday I have exam in descret math  :-\

I'll see if I can create anything lite in a week...

[Drumpi]

I like offtopics on my worklog, it brings variety ;D
Sarcasm aside, if you got exams, maybe you must study, those subjects are very... treacherous: when you think an exercise it's ok, teacher find a less minus and you are dead.
But if you have been studying and did a lot of exercises, maybe you can try ;)

Ok, let's ontopic:

5 DAYS REMAINING:

I can't believe how slow i am. Well, today i had a birthday party, so i cannot miss it.
But i did a great advance: now i got the three weapons. It took me all afternoon, and i don't know if it's values are balanced with the others. I think so, but it's very hard: it's the powerest weapon, the most hidden, have the shortest range long and the largest range around.

Finally, i solved the incompatibility troubles with code, and i had to do a lot of artwork. Well, graphically it's simple, but i drawn it pixel by pixel and must adjust it and his "shadow" by pixel-perfect. Then, i must go to enemy's code and add collision to it ONE BY ONE, buf, lot of work.
But it's here, a good weapon, maybe more powerfull than i like... but it's a hidden weapon after all ^^.

I drawed another enemy, now i must code it. It's an easy one, it don't move, but shots if he see you.
And finally i added the last thing to the second level event (at least!!!). It gave me a good headache because an infinite loop (so, i can't debug it with debug console, i did it reading code :S).

I hope i can speed up the development in next two days and have all presentation (title, menu, levels beginning, losting a live, game over and credits) and more of second level. I must do another event, some FX, add more sounds and add checkpoints/savegame too, so... AAAARGHH!

[Drumpi]

4 DAYS REMAINING:

Now i must been worrying for the extra level. But...
Well, I made some enemies more (three), with names like "Flotaz", "Zenerg" or "Canon" (it's sad, but surely you cannot know all names... unless you open the FPGs ;D). They are tested and working.
And finally, I made the levels intro. Simple (as always) but i think it will like you. It takes me too much time, for adjusting graphics to screen and for an error of every 10 lines of code ;D

I was working on presentation (how can i say "portada" in english?), as you can see in the other thread, but I wasn't inspired. Maybe i can use the one i uploaded, "Cave Stoy" only uses letters an Quote walking.

All these should be half of all work of day. Well, so i was working on a bit of second level until half hour ago (the time to visit the forum).
Tomorrow I will do the losting live and game over. I hope i can do a pair of clon... enemies more, and get the second level. I hope I can do the last event on friday and get the main menu working.
The extra level is in serious troubles.

[Drumpi]

3 DAYS REMAINING:

Hello there.
I'm happy. Not the happiest i could be, but happy at all.
And this is because i made the main menu. It's simple (deja-vu) but it's done. But there is more than this, because i can add as many options as i need, so now it has only "start" and "exit" options, but i can add a "configuration" and more.
And it works: if you choose "exit", you will exit the game, if you choose "start"... you'll get the difficulty menu and then you can play the game.

Yes, now you can start with 1, 3 or 5 lives...
And end without them. Echo now is mortal, if energy fall to 0, the screen will darkens and an animation says us we have lost a live. If we have another live, we will continue game, but if not, game over, sad music and return to main menu.

And don't think this part was easy: there were a lot of provisional code i must delete, and i get a lot of bugs (maybe, the most i had ever), so i was debugging for two hours and i'm not sure i kill them all.
Also, i get others bugs I don't noticed, like songs unload, or playing a not loaded song.

Now i must complete the second level, the final event and credits. With them i can take part of the contest. But i hope i can add a key configuration and autosave. Maybe you cannot play all game in one session (maybe 1 hour without explore too much, but it takes me 30 minutes).
Extra level is still in danger. If i do lot of work tomorrow, maybe it can be added.

The end is near... but not so near ;)

[Drumpi]

2 DAYS REMAINING:

Oh, my God! the time is almost expired. I'm scared.
Well, all i can say is: i've got the credits, but it takes me so long. It's because graphics. I must draw (write) all names, cut them (pixel perfect, i must optimize memory the best i can) and code.
Half afternoon flyes with this.
And as i said, i need more enemies, because second level has almost the same as first, but it needs more. So i made two more. I made only graphics. I haven't time to code them. They use the same code as two enemies, but don't think bad of me, I used the smartest enemies i made, so if two of them are hard to beat, now you can see more together ;D ;D ;D

And I was making the second level. I finished to test the second screen ten minutes ago, an it's... not bad, but it could be better. Is slightly easier than last screen of first level, but don't worry, next will be harder ;D
The second level is going to have four screens. Now i've got first screen totally ended, the second i must look over a little and put decoration. The third has only the hardness map, i made it today in an hour, because when all job was did, i forgot to save (AAAARRGH!), so i must to re-did the last half again. And the fourth, well i got half of hardness map.

That's right: i haven't second level finished, so the extra level is almost dead. I must optimize code, make the last event and finish the second level, so i hope i can do them tomorrow. Else, i will not have time for coding save engine, and you must finish all the game at once.

Splinter has now a beta version to test perfomance (i hope he don't play all game, or i will lost surprise factor ;D). In GP2X works fine (90% speed, decreasing because is not optimized), but it looks like WIZ have some troubles, even if it's more powerful than his predecessor.

I would like to finish it after the contest, adding the level select, the extra level and some things more, but i have other works to do. Maybe i could give it one hour every day, but i don't know.
Well, think on today (a.k.a. tomorrow): i must finish second level and make the event. I hope my musician will have the two musics that are missing and the SFX of last weapon.

[Drumpi]

1 DAY REMAINING!!!!!!!!!

OOouuaaaaaahhhhh!!! i'm sooooo tired. It's 5:20 AM and i'm still awakened.
But i must finish it, i MUSSSSSSSTTTT!!!
And i'm almost finish.

I finished the sencond level in record time, very loooooooong. Do you remember when I said "with maps of 200x22 tiles, the editor is so slow"? Well, this level is, after joining all submaps (get ready), 893x22 tiles!!!!!!!! Thanks goodness i have a dual core and Fenix only uses one of them: the file load takes 3 minutes, and i must to see if joining was sucessful.
Best of all it's game goes at normal speed (don't think it shows all map at same time).

But i don't finished: i must do the last event and the last draw, add some explosions and rewrite sound process (it crash randomly).
The optimization it's done too, and game goes 100% speed with 1 frameskip in WIZ (they said me that with 0 frameskip is still playable, but i don't have a Wiz to test). I don't have time to try on GP2X, I'm going to sleep, because tomorrow i have a lot of work to do.

Now, i'm Jack Bauer again (maybe tomorrow i'll incest ;D).

PD: time limit it's 12:00 AM in GMT-12, so it means i got 11 hours more because time lag. Yeah! real 24 hours!!!